The studies conducted
by Stanley Milgram of Yale University in the early 1960s are among the
best known psychology experiments. They illustrate that obedience to
authority often accounts for “willful blindness.”

Briefly, a
volunteer subject was told that the experiment would study whether
electric shocks could help people learn. This “teacher” thought he or
she was delivering electric shocks to the “learner,” who was actually
acting on behalf of the research team. The learner had to remember
word pairs, and each incorrect answer led to ever increasing electric
shocks. The teachers, who could hear but not see the learners, were
nearly all distressed as the learner’s initial complaints of pain
escalated to screams. In the initial experiment, all subjects wanted
to stop, but they were told by another member of the experimental team
that they must continue. 65% of subjects believed that they had
delivered what they were told was the maximum shock – 450 volts.

Interestingly, Yale undergraduate psychology majors predicted that
0-3% of subjects would deliver the maximum voltage – roughly the
percentage of psychopaths who are unable to feel empathy. Yet most
subjects obeyed the instructions of the experimenters, even though
they gained no reward for giving the maximum shock and were told that
there was no penalty (they were paid $4 for their time) if they
stopped at any time. In fact, in one variation, the “learner”
mentioned that he had a heart condition, and as the shocks increased
he begged the “teacher” to stop on that account. Even after the
learner became silent, most teachers continued to administer shocks,
following the researcher’s instructions.

Some of those who
were skeptical of the research results suggested that participants
might have known or suspected that the “learner” was acting. Subjects
might have delivered the shocks because they believed that they really
weren’t hurting anyone. Consequently, a different research team had a
“fluffy puppy dog” receive electric shocks. I’ll talk about that
experiment, and its implications, next week.